The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1887-08-05
HOG RAISING.
SOME PRACTICAL HINTS on TIE RAISING
OF HOGS AND THE CURING OF HANS.

Tho Weekly Nccs anil Courier asks me
to join its cotcric of wise men who can
mako cotton at three cents per pound and
do other wonderful things, and wants me
to contribute an article to its agricultural
department on 'curiug hams My vanity
10 ticklcd by the assurance: II have tnstcd
some of your hams and they are the sweet
l have ever eaten Now, who could Ic-
sist that? Not |, even though lose caste
with my fellows, who will smile to see me
playing the accustomed role Of telling
others chow to do it," Besides, have
had such FREQ license to use its columns Cor
the purpose Of airing our grievances and
advocating reforms, that | would be un-
grateful and appear churish to refuse SO
simple request. SO here goes for a
"swim in the agricultural millpoad, pure
and simple, along with peterkin, Clarkson,
Watts, &c, and for once, without sc;nti-
Ia of "politics being Sin it."
1t is a strange feeling, aud my unaccus-
toned pencil hardly knows whether to
write or not. Then there is nobody to
quarrel with and dig under the fifth rib,
and feel altogether uncomfortable. Yes,
there is the hog. | have GOT to stick the
hog before [ can cure the hams, and
though he can only squcal in indignant
protest, like Others whom | have stack
have done, and die swearing he is innocent
and ought to be let alone, still nc must
die in the cause of agricultural science ana
in order to gain me admission to the "\g-
ricultural Department Of the Weekly .NCwS
and Courier" My dear readers Of the
Agricultural Department, congratulate me.
| am promoted and forever lifted above
dctraction and accusations o" f"failure.' and
feel as proud as "Bashaw with three
tails" Come forward, We agricultural
gcniuscs, whose pens have ilumued the
FARMERS corner of our great weekly. and
give me the right hand Of fellowship,
while the choir led by Josiah Plain. sings
Prophetic aud mysterious truths,
never could unfold m.
Without iagon Of good wine
And slice good old ham.
Now TO b, illness, for space in the .\sri-
cultural department Of the Weekly News
and Courier. like that at Columbia, is val
liable, and there is no room for trash or
ignorant pretence. SO leave of your non-
sense, oh, 'dear Capt. Tlllman' and tell
Us what you know about "curny hams:'
There is absolutely no difficulty or mys-
terry about it. The trouble is to get the
hams to sure, and feel that really give
some valuable hints en- hog raising, as after
paying II cents for bacon in 1882, be.
gan zealously to study how to raise ny
own meat, and have been so successful that
can and have grown the hogs cheaper
than could buy them, even at the low
prices Of recent years. The celebrated
DR.. Kitchner, the first original cook book
maker, in giving Il recipe for baking hare,
wrote: "First catch your hare ana |
think the farmers of South Carolina viii!
be better pleased if tell them how to
"catch their hams than how to .cur2'
them. | will condensc as much a, Dos sibe.
for the space you can spare will not per-
NIT as full treatment Of the subject rs it
deserves. "a pig we'll started is hog half
made and cheap meat cannot be grown
from Stunted or ill-brcd pigs. Tho r,qui-
sites for good "s.art' arc a thoroughbred
boar-Borkshirc or Essex, at the South
vigorous SOW not under eighteen month.
old, and good mixer, Elcnty Of suitable
food for the SOW to turn into milk un'il
tho pigs arc eight weeks old, and all the
soaked or ground oats, rye, peas, wheat or
barley they will eat until wcanci. Com
mcnce to feed the pigs in trough to
themselves, at three weeks Of age, AMI con
tinuing after weaving at least month.
Milk is a most valuable food for young
pigs, but our people are generally too glad
to "catch" a,littlo milk for themselves to
spare any for pigs. Corn is unsutcl f,r
young growing animals Of any kind, and is
the most costly hog food we can raise. \
mixture of wheat bran, peas and corn
meal, or ofpeas and oats and corn ground
together is good for the sow, while suck
ling, but my hogs never get any coru, I'M
less they steal it, until couple Of weeks
before killing them. Pigs should be drop
ped in October or March. If they come
in wintor they arc liable to be frozen at
birth, and in summer they do not seem to
do well. | have found that the progeny Of
n large common or grade sow and 4 thor.